The invention relates generally to monitors or displays connected to monitoring or diagnostic equipment for illustrating data about an object to which the equipment is connected, and more particularly to devices and methods for graphically displaying the data.
In monitoring or diagnostic devices that are currently utilized, the data obtained by the devices is often shown on a display connected to the device that provides a visual representation of the data in manner that can be readily assimilated by an individual viewing the data.
These types of devices are utilized in many different environments, such as in hospitals and other medical environments where patients are continuously monitored by these devices. In the example of those devices utilized in medical environments, the data obtained and displayed on the monitoring or diagnostic devices is often shown as numerical values for the various parameters being monitored that are represented on a screen of the device. The clinicians observing the screen and the numerical values represented thereon derive the necessary information by viewing and analyzing the numerical values.
In collecting and formatting the data from the patient for display on the associated screen, the monitoring device can also generate alarms based on sensed events determined by the stored criteria and parameter limits regarding the data collected by the monitoring device and represented by the numerical values. In most situations, the alarms corresponding to the sensed events represented in the data in the displayed are various types of audio and or visual indicators generated from the monitoring device.
The visual alarm indicators normally consist of a flashing alarm icon on the screen of the device in or associated with bright, easily noticeable colors to indicate which parameter has to be reviewed by the individual on an urgent basis. Most often these visual indicators of alarms are limited to highlighting the numerical values which are abnormal optionally along with a display of the name of any critical cardiac event, e.g. ASYSTOLE.
However, in order for the alarm to be generated to display the associated numerical value in the highlighted format, the sensed values for the parameter must meet the criteria stored in the device for the alarm condition, such as exceeding a threshold value retained in the device. While the alarm condition can be determined by the device using one or more criteria to define the alarm condition, in prior art monitoring devices the alarm condition is either met or not met based on the data received by the device and compared with the corresponding alarm condition criteria. As a result, the alarm condition criteria are normally set at a relatively low level in order to trigger the alarm and draw the attention of the clinician to that parameter prior to the clinical alarm event reaching a critical stage. In certain prior art displays, ancillary display icons, such as arrows, are utilized with the displayed parameter values to provide an indication of the direction in which the particular parameter is trending. However, these additional icons require valuable space on the display screen and require that the individual look at a separate icon from the parameter display in order to view the information provided by the ancillary icon.
Further, while these devices provide displays and methods of operating the displays that are capable of organizing information relating to various alarm events or conditions for review by an individual, there are a large number of parameters presented on the screen at any given time. Due to the large number of the alarm events which may be occurring at a given time, partially as a result of the low threshold criteria values for triggering the alarms, certain highly important clinical events could inadvertently be overlooked or missed. This is often referred to, as alarm fatigue and results from the constant representation of the alarm events in a similar manner that can cause certain events to become “lost” in the flood of alarms and associated information represented on the display screen of the particular device.
Therefore, it is desirable to provide an improved system and method of identifying or highlighting alarm conditions that reduces the prevalence of alarm fatigue while concurrently increasing the effectiveness and amount of information provided by the alarm signaled by the device. In addition, it is desirable to provide the increased amount of information without increasing the number of display icons presented on the display screen.